Epicinium
by LoveInfinitum
Summary: The Institute of Justice exists no more. Welcome to Valoran, where a spectacle known as "League of Legends" ended when the Void ripped through the veil. Five years after the cataclysmic event now known as "Gathering of the Titans", a threat of Apocalypse dawns on Valoran, and the great Game of Fate begins.
1. The stranger and the man

It was a calm night of gentle drizzles.

A night of pure serenity, wet with light rain, that made you appreciate life even in the midst of a full-scale Void Invasion of Valoran.

Five years it had been, since the portals to the Void ripped through the veil, letting countless creatures of many hideous forms escape.

Behind their magnificent walls, nine-nations of Valoran hid many cities and villages, protecting them from onslaught of Void Invasion. Any villages or cities that were on lands outside these protective walls were mostly all destroyed by gruesome creatures known as Emon's, spiky red-beasts, running on all four-legs and swift as the wind, deadly with their toxins and always traveling in packs, designed to seek-and-destroy the innocents of Valoran.

And on this day, exactly five years after the Invasion of the Void, a stranger traveled to Demacia, a majestic kingdom dashingly beaming colors of blue and gold, a land with towering castles taller than hextech-skyscrapers of Piltover.

His face hidden, the hatted stranger was approaching the far most eastern Demacian village. Under his jet-black umbrella, he fashioned golden shoulder guard, inner-area curved upward for neck protection, and under it a long black jacket that worked more as a cape, and with faded-magenta vest and his signature black Stetson shading half of his face, his well-fashioned goatee and long hair were emphasized.

Known as the Ultimate Gambler and the Card Master, the stranger was no stranger to many.

The stranger had set his sights on Demacia's famous tavern known as the "Dauntless Nights." After a long journey and much magic usage, the exhausted man fashioning an elegant trench coat embroiled in golden lacings needed a drink or two, he thought to himself.

When the stranger could hear the festivities of the pub, he tilted his hat up to see Dauntless Nights in all its glories. Music was playing, lights were flickering, noises were echoing, and after a realization that seemed all too ironic, a gentle smile found its place upon the stranger's face.

"Well I'll be damned," he chuckled, talking to himself as he approached the footsteps of Dauntless Nights.

Dauntless Nights was a famous tavern indeed, for it held many events with handsome rewards, night after night. The owners were gracious, one being the jolly-good bartender, so they gave back as much as they took and created a happy family environment. Not the ideal place for a loner such as the hooded man.

Upon entering , the stranger folded his umbrella and started making his way to the bars, passing many drunk Demacian citizens, and many forms of pleasantries. The stranger swiftly moved through the crowded areas, as if magic, and arrived at the bar area as he leaned his wet umbrella against a stool he soon sat in.

"'Ello there! What can I get for ye?"

"Bartender, I'll have two pitchers of your signature Demacian pale ale,"

"Well alright-y there. That will be six bronzes,"

The stranger handed over the payment, and tapped his fingers as he waited, observing the hooded man's behaviors. The man seemed to have been past the point of drunk, his face pointed towards the table. But the stranger had already known the man's true identity, and was exactly the reason why had come to the tavern in the first place.

The Bartender soon returned with two pitchers of Demacian pale ale.

"Dere' ye go, two Demacian pale ales."

"Ah, perfection." The hatted stranger replied, as he sipped a pitcher of beer. A good balance of malt and hops, nearly perfected to contain slight notes of fruit with bitterness in that exquisite range of floral and pungent.

"Anythun' else?"

"Actually, indeed. What do you know of that man over there?"

The stranger pointed to the far left corner of the tavern, where a hooded man was sitting alone on a round table, as far away as possible from the rest of the crowd.

"Aye?" the bartender squinted to look. "Not much, I'm afraid. He has been sitting deyah since this afternoon, drinking ale after ale. Other than that, not much, I apologize."

"Heh, any information is power. My sincere gratitude."

He grabbed the two ales and made his way to a certain table, not too far from the bar area.

"Heh heh. It has been a long time, old friend," said the stranger in hat, as he sat himself down next to the man.

The hooded man lifted his head up, holding on to his forehead with his right arm, no doubt due to drinking. His cheeks red and his beard wet with booze, this brutish man still had his eyes closed with a frown on his face.

"Are you talking to me, stranger?" The drunken warrior grunted, as he clumsily searched for and grabbed a half-finished mug of ale. It only took him a second to finish rest.

The stranger could not help but laugh at the man.

How the mighty had fallen, he thought to himself.

"Indeed I am," said the stranger to the man, in a calm demeanor. "May I sit?"

The man gestured the stranger to do so, and the stranger sat across from the man. He placed the two ales gently on the round wooden table, as he tilted his hat slightly forward and smirked.

"I am here with a job offer,"

"Job offer hmmm?" The man opened his eyes, red from all the drinking.

The stranger looked very familiar to him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something definitely familiar about the stranger to the man.

"Do I know you?" asked the man.

"Highly possibly, partner, but I know you," said the stranger, as he chuckled.

"Everybody knows the King-Murderer," the man replied with sarcastic tone, as he tried to drink from an empty mug. He grunted as he just-nearly slammed the mug back onto the table.

The stranger passed a pitcher of ale to the man.

"All the ale you will probably need tonight, King-Murderer,"

"Probably will need more," The man grabbed the pitcher and drank from it with gusto. "Pale ale? Good choice." The man reached out to cheers the stranger, and the two drank the pale ale, crisp and fresh. "So," said the man as he wiped his beard. "How can I help you, stranger?"

The man had been discharged of his duties in Demacia, after killing Jarvan III, the former king of Demacia. No one knows of his motives for doing so, but his son Jarvan IV had no choice but to banish the man from the central kingdom, where the top officers of Demacia resided. Execution would have been the correct choice for the man, but Jarvan IV showed mercy to his former-best friend, much to the distaste of public opinion.

"Before we begin, what happened to your left arm?"

"Cut off in a duel," stated the man, his expression turning serious.

"Oh? Unfortunate. And where are your regular armors? Surely the captain of the Dauntless Vanguard wears it all the time,"

"Have you not heard? I murdered the king, I have been discharged."

"Can you still fight as you once did?"

The man clenched his Greatsword that was leaning next to him against the table, as he gave the stranger a glare as if he was about to cut him in half. The man was wearing a worn out wool cape, with a regular cotton clothes, ragged up from over-wearing. Bandages around his only arm covering many scars, he was an imposing brute of a warrior and his presence itself told of many glorious battles fought.

"Ha, such force. I apologize, I apologize. I did come to you for services after all,"

The man released the sword and leaned it back onto the table.

"Who are you, and what do you want of me?"

"Have you forgotten already, dear Garen?" the stranger said to the man, revealing the man to a former Champion of League of Legends.

Garen, startled, rubbed his eyes with his one right-arm, and looked at the stranger more closely.

"Twisted-Fate," Garen claimed. "You could have just said so from the beginning."

"Ha, that was not fair of me, do forgive," Twisted-Fate apologized, as he sipped his pitcher of ale. "But my friend, you are a shadow of your former-self. It has been five years since the Gathering of the Titans. Do you remember, Garen?"

"Who wouldn't?" Garen took another gulp. Remembering the past, he slammed the table in anger. "it's where I lost my f**king arm."

"A bit wrathful eh? Heh heh,"

"Get to the point, Tobias."

"Okay Garen," Twisted Fate responded, as he took out a briefcase filled with cash. "This is your initial pay, gold bills worth five platinum coins."

Garen's eyes widened at the amount of money. With this amount of money, Garen could take care of all of his financial problems he had been facing with the Demacian banks, as he had wasted away all the loaned money on booze.

"What's the catch?"

"I don't know myself. But there is always a catch,"

Twisted Fate finished off his ale.

"Long story short, I intend to restore order to Valoran by reviving the Institute of Justice."

Garen looked at Tobias and a momentary pause followed. He let out a sigh.

"That's noble of you, considering it **is** you, after all. So what do you want me to do?" Garen asked, seemingly looking peeved.

"This is no lie, partner. And I prefer the word, cheat. If fate deems me with mercy so kind, I may see a day where I can cheat the system once more,"

"What the actual f**k kind of reason is that!?"

Twisted Fate burst out in laughing.

"Quite frankly, it's what gives me the thrills. I want to cheat the system, but there has to be a stable system in the first place for me to cheat. I am not too fond of the state of the system Valoran is in, succumbing down to the Void's threat."

Garen finished off his ale as well, hard to disagree from Twisted Fate's point.

Any villages and civilians that were outside the protection of a major political nation of Valoran had to abandon their homes in search for refuge of nine nations of Valoran. The Void creatures dared not approach Mt. Targon, ever since the conjoining of Solari and Lunari orders.

"You drink fast," Garen proclaimed. He let out an obnoxious burp, with a smell of fried fish and yeast cascading onto Twisted-Fate's poor nose. He did not budge, but Garen could tell Tobias was uncomfortable. "So what is it that you want me to do?"

"Heh, I knew you would be interested," Twisted Fate scratched his finely-fashioned goatee, smirking as he took out three cards, red, blue and gold. "Simply partner, I require your services in armed-fighting. I want you to protect me, at all costs, in exchange for payment."

Garen looked at the gold bills inside the briefcase. He laughed, as he closed the briefcase and faced Tobias.

"Money? Is this your best offer, Twisted Fate?"

Tobias chuckled.

"Partner, don't you want redemption?"

"Redemption? So I can be maneuvered into killing another king? I am comfortable in this village," Garen replied.

Maneuvered? Good information, Twisted Fate thought to himself.

"What if I were to tell you, the entire Valoran is in grave danger?"

This peeked Garen's interest, Tobias could tell.

"What sort of grave danger?"

"That information, is confidential."

Twisted Fate stood up, as he dusted off his jacket.

"It is about time I left. All shall be revealed in time. So if you accept the job offer, be in front of this tavern 'morrow's morning, partner,"

"Wait,"

Garen, once a proud captain of the Dauntless Vanguard, still had his pride. But he was a lonely man.

"You should know, gambler, you cannot buy a man like me, no matter how hard times may seem," Garen stood up from his seat. "You cannot gamble my fate with money."

"Tell me, what is it that you seek?"

Garen took his hood off.

"A stranger once said, 'any information is power, my sincere gratitude,'" said Garen, his eyes with focus in them now.

Twisted-Fate heatedly laughed.

"I see your hearing is as good as ever,"

"The things I have heard back in Noxian prisons," Garen shook his head. "This plan of yours. How do you intend on recreating the Institute of Justice? And what is this confidential information?"

Twisted-Fate stared at Garen for a while, and silence fell amongst the two. But eventually, Twisted-Fate moved to tuck his chair in and broke the silence.

"Simply, partner, the Apocalypse is coming, and its armies are those of the Void. And I intend to stop it,"

And with that statement, Twisted-Fate walked away to exit the bar, with confused Garen, with a slight frown between his brows, looking on.


	2. Du Couteau's Resolve

Gathering of the Titans: An event three years prior to the main story in which the portal to the Void opened upon a great gathering of the Institute of Justice which involved many champions, every single summoner, and important figures from city-state nations. And the Void's creatures invaded with the explosion of the tear in the fabrics of reality. Those who weren't killed by the explosion were slaughtered without mercy. Many champions were able to defend themselves and escape but all the summoners and would-be summoners, as record states, were killed on that day.

Noxian Grand Ball

"Too much music, too many faces, too many lies" Katarina mumbled to herself as she entered the grand ball room of the Noxian court. Lady Katarina, as wonderful as ever! Lady Katarina, your luscious red hair is fierce as your blades! People would say to her many praises as she endured fiercely to put a fake smile on her face. "Talon, remind me to tell you to slice the smile off of that man's face, will you darling?" Katarina whispered to her trusty assassin and bodyguard, Talon the Blade's Shadows.

"Understood my lady," said the hooded assassin, as they walked up the stairs that led to the festivities.

Noxus was holding its annual Grand Ball to celebrate the success of Noxus as a nation and its many conquests. And most recently, the fall of the Institute of Justice. Without the high summoners of the former super power of Valoran, those of the League of Legends, Noxus was free to conquer other nations and lands as it pleased. Noxian nation was never more behind a grand general as much as now. Noxus was truly a nation under one goal and one leader; Jericho Swain.

Even in the face of the Void Invasion, Noxus stood tall and proud. They had no problem whatsoever defending their own nation against the voidlings thanks to ingenious strategies by none other than the Grand General, Jericho Swain. The Master Tactician's grasp of war tactics and his unstoppable army formations had voidlings being dismantled in every corner. Due to three years of this action, the creatures of the Void and its generals had automatically strategized to go around Noxian territory. This was perfect for Noxus to take the most advantage of all the chaos around the fights to secure and gain more power.

With many people of importance and nobility gathered around the Grand Ball ballroom, Jericho Swain showed himself along with his right arm and Noxian Imperial Commander, Darius. He hobbled his way to the stage of the Grand Ball room as Beatrice, his trusty magical raven, landed on his left shoulder. With Darius at his right, he took stage and used magic to enhance his voice. "Good evening (cackle)" silence fell over the area. Swain had the stage. "I welcome you friends, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, and many more, to the Grand Ball of Noxus!" The crowd cheered and roared, as Katarina grunted with disgust and disbelief.

"Silence!" Darius silenced the crowd in an instant with his burst of uproar.

"And that will be all for the greetings. I am a man of not enough time, so here is what I have to say tonight. The reports of scouts say that the Void generals have declared a set date and time of when and where they shall strike with a 'force that will mount to one of the greatest gatherings' as they said, "Swain continued "we of Noxus will of course answer to this injustice with a force of no mercy, led by none other than Katarina Du Couteau and her general Tal-"

"Now wait just one minute!" Katarina interrupted, ready to draw her daggers and charge at Swain. "You and I BOTH know, you send Talon and I on that trip, we both die, as well as our forces!" Katarina shouted as Swain scoffed.

"Are you afraid, general Katarina? You are, after all, the captain of the imperial shadows and I, the Master Tactician, are we not?" said Swain as he lifted up his bandana that covered the lower half of his face to have a sip of a cup of water that was on the speaking podium. "You will trust in my strategies to win this battle with your forces and you will obey my orders, Lady Du Couteau."

Katarina was dumbfounded, and mumbled "he's trying to get rid of both of us at once with this opportunity" to Talon. "Let's give the Grand General a visit tonight to convince him…otherwise". Talon nodded as a gesture of approval.

"Three years it has been since the destruction wrought upon our world in the Gathering of the Titans! And since then, we have stood strong! The creatures of the Void have been strong indeed but Noxus has endured and has grown stronger in the face of apocalypse! But now, our world faces greater danger than ever before. The Voidlings and its generals intend to occupy and conquer the Ironspike Mountains, which will give them strategic advantage over nations of Zaun, Piltover, Freljord, and even us, Noxus. Which is why, I am entrusting this mission to a general I trust as much as my right hand, Darius, to dear Lady Katarina Du Couteau." Darius stood firm and tall next to Swain, as he glared at Katarina. "Now let the festivities commence! Enjoy and play the Ball, and I hope to bid you goodnight."

With a hand gesture, Swain and Darius walked off the stage as the crowd applauded and cheered as an intense classical music started playing.

"Play the ball he says. Heh. The only thing that will be played will be his –"

"Dear sister, ssssttsss" Cassiopeia, half-serpent and half-human, and the sister of Katarina, interrupted.

"….Sister. What do you want? Are you here to congratulate me on my death trip?"

"Ssssttt. Not necessarily," Cassiopeia hissed pleasantly. "I just want you to know, while you are gone, I will be protecting our family's name more tightly than ever." Cassiopeia approached Katarina's ear and whispered, "More tightly than ever" and slithered away, as people stared in awe at the sight of the self-proclaimed Goddess of Venom.

"Ugh" Katarina grunted, "come Talon. We have work to do."

"Yes, milady."

As Katarina walked down the aisles of the dance floor, she encountered crowds of familiar faces such as Leblanc, and her group of agents of the secret order, Black Rose, grinning at her. She encountered faces such as Draven, who was busy laughing at his own tales of how he executed a prisoner while spinning one of his axes on his nose. She soon found her way to Swain.

"I demand an explanation for this outrage, Grand General!" Katarina hissed. Darius took a step forward and stared down at Katarina. Talon quickly lifted his hand-blade near Darius' face. Swain cackled from the back.

"There is no need for all this, my fellow Noxians" said Swain, cackling. "Just remember this, Katarina. When it comes to strategies, I am the Master Tactician. You cannot outplay me and you will obey my orders." Swain paused and seemed to smile under his Mask. He continued, "I have every confidence my strategies and your skills will prevail in this battle. Do you not think, Lord Greenwater?" Swain said as he pulled a nearby Lord. He laughed and agreed as Swain gathered attention on himself and disappeared into the crowd.

Katarina was fuming. She retreated to her quarters, defeated and humbled once again by the Grand General at what was supposed to be her own game; death and deception. "Swain wants to play that way huh? You know what? Fine, I'll give him something of a show in this battle." Katarina was down on her knees and pulling on her hair. She slowly got up as she stared back at Talon, who was standing guard in the rear of the room. "Heh heh hehEHAHAHHAHHEAWHEHH! Talon… We are going to release Sion." Talon, a man so cold that ice and snow would freeze over, seemed momentarily stunned.

"….Milady. The beast is sealed away in the weapon's vault."

"That's right. We are going to invade the weapon's vault tonight. Swain was able to seal him up after the Gathering of the Titans, because he had no more importance than being an undead juggernaut. But he was loyal to me. And in time, we will have revenge for all others killed by Swain! He manipulated his way to killing and sealing away every single entity that seemed threat to him. Until it me. I am a Du Couteau!" Katarina pulled on her hair once more as she screamed. …."If we are going to a battle that's supposed to be one of the greatest gatherings of those disgusting creatures, might as well bring out a frontline. My once and loyal warrior, Sion! I will show them… I will show them all, what it means to be a Du Couteau!"

"And how will we perform this feat exactly, milady, without being labeled as traitors of the nation?"

"That's simple. We need the user of the forbidden magic." Katarina chuckled. "That's right Talon. Blood magic. We need the hemomancer, Vladimir." To this statement, Talon frowned a little.

To be continued, in the union of many brave stories, villainous plots and heroic tales in Epicinium.


	3. The Pact

Swain was sending us to our doom, Katarina thought to herself. The amount of soldiers that had been assigned to Katarina had only been large enough to be a patrol squad, even with her specialized assassination team. The only way to fix this mess and save Noxus, she thought to herself, was for herself to be the Grand General.

In order to seek out a way to resurrect Sion the Undead Juggernaut, currently sealed away and asleep under Jericho Swain's orders, Katarina and Talon infiltrated an underground lair of Vladimir. Ever since the event of the Gathering of the Titans, Vladimir has been spending most of his days in his underground dungeon, experimenting and creating his own race, using a form of blood magic that could give life. The hemomancer had become a god in his own rights.

The self-proclaimed Blood Lord was at the very bottom of the lair, which went down 30 stories deep. And Katarina only had little time before Swain would try to use his next move to get rid of her. The only reason she was alive was due to her family name, Du Couteau, still carrying high prestige and honor amongst Noxians. She had realized this and knew the clock was ticking. Her opponent was after all, the Master Tactician. You want to play the game Swain? I'll give you one that will shake Noxus to its core. She thought to herself as she tread through Vladimir's dungeon.

Horrific and gruesome. Talon thought to himself, as he followed Katarina while preparing to slice anything that might jump out. The dungeon was like a castle that went underground. As they cautiously descended down the dungeon, Talon and Katarina encountered creatures that were born of Vladimir's magic and experiments. All the creatures had human-like appearances, with the most noticeable factors being silver hair and red eyes, and there were so many of them that this dungeon was like an underground kingdom.

Katarina and Talon were extremely skilled at infiltrating and using the shadows to their advantages. With Talon's expert skills in building infrastructure as well as his near 6th sense-like tracking abilities, the duo had no problem descending down the dungeon with only little detection. There were some non-human creatures that attacked the duo but Katarina and Talon were quick to dispatch of the creatures. And in no time, they had reached Vladimir's supposed Throne room's eerie looking gate.

"Let me meld in first and you Shunpo on to me," Talon suggested, as he walked up to the Throne room's gate. Katarina gave a quick nod of approval as she prepared to teleport, and for the worst. Talon prepared his blade, and gradually his body colors faded away as he became invisible to naked eyes. In this stealth form, Talon could walk through solid objects which also contributed many of his assassinations. "Here we go".

Talon walked through. Katarina quickly sensed Talon's presence on the other side of the wall and shunpo'd without a moment of hesitation and quickly drew her blades. And at the Throne, far away from the gate and guarded by his many soldiers, sat Vladimir the Blood Lord.

"I have been expecting you, Lady Du Couteau….and her lap dog," Vladimir stated as he raised his head and gave a sinister smile. As he stood up, one of his soldiers shouted out, all hail the God of Life, the Blood Lord, his highness Vladimir! And soon the rest of the soldiers that were in the room followed suit.

"Sick and twisted as always, Blood Lord," Katarina snarled as she eyed over the room to count how many soldiers there were. Fifteen, she thought to herself. "How in the world did you do all this?"

"Hehe first, why don't we all relax," Vladimir gestured his soldiers to be at ease while gesturing Katarina and Talon to approach him.

"I don't like this," Talon whispered to Katarina.

And then the negotiations started. Talon was alert at all times just in case Vladimir or his minions would try anything dangerous. The mental game of revealing one card at a time while keeping an ace up your sleeve was always formal when dealing with the Blood Lord himself, but luckily Katarina was a smart woman; ill-tempered, but very smart. After what seemed like hours, they finally came to a conclusion. Vladimir would help Katarina and Talon in reviving Sion, and even aid Katarina in her conquest, in exchange for two favors of any kind, and at any time. After much hesitation, Katarina agreed to Vladimir's offering as Vladimir poured some of his blood wine into a chalice and dropped some of his blood into it. After mixing it up with his finger with a smile on his face, he offered the chalice to Katarina in order to seal the deal.

"…is this really necessary" Now she had known for sure that there was a catch. There's always a catch.

"You want this deal, am I mistaken? You want to revive the Undead Juggernaut with my magic, no? I am not a patient being, Lady Du Couteau," said Vladimir, as his eyes faintly glowed red.

Expecting the worst of outcomes and with heavy heart, Katarina gulped down the chalice until there was nothing left, thus completing the deal with Vladimir. She almost threw the vile liquid back up. He clapped, as he praised _Bravo!___The wine had a quite the burning sensation and she felt extremely sudden warmth all over her body. She screamed as she collapsed on her knees. And then, a red mark gradually appeared on her hand, signifying that she is in a pact with Vladimir.

"Hehehe…Contrary to the stereotypical rumors that go around, I keep my promise to the fullest extent and sometimes even more….I do hope you will keep yours, Lady Du Couteau," said Vladimir, as he stood up from his seat and summoned up pools of blood that circled up into a ball. "Time for the Lord of Terror to awaken. Until our negotiations are complete, you can consider me your ally….or your worst nightmare"

"Threaten my lady again, I will cut your throat bloodsucker." Talon immediately switched to his battle stance.

"And afterwards, my throat shall be healed once more with your blood,"

SHUT UP! Katarina screamed as she squirmed her way to her feet.

"Until the pact is complete you and I will be allies, and I will fulfill whatever your desires may be as long as it does not interfere in my conquest of Noxus. And you will help me until I am the Grand General of Noxus herself."

After a brief pause, Vladimir let out a smile and summoned up a pool of blood.

"Well then, my fellow companions Katarina and Talon…shall we go revive Sion?" Said Vladimir as he jumped into the pool, gesturing the two to follow as well. With an evil grin, Katarina jumped into the pool, quickly followed by Talon. Noxian Grand Ball.

This year's Annual Noxian Grand Ball would go down in history as one of the greatest celebration of all ages. Music were vibrant, friendships were made, arguments were settled, disputes were lessened and, most importantly, Noxus was united. In the face of an apocalyptic crisis, Noxus spat on the waste of garbage the Noxians thought the Void Invasion was. All the credit was due to one man, in the eyes of the majority, and that man's name was Jericho Swain.

"Grand General," a noblewoman approached Jericho Swain, who was observing the pleasantries of the ball from a comfy porch known as the chat lounge. There were lamps with patterns that dated back to the days of the Rune Wars and the lights created by hexmaturgy and magic was something to behold. "How do you fare on this fine evening?" Swain turned to face the woman. "Care for a glass of wine, or a chat?" The woman gave a foxy smile.

Swain took a brief glimpse at the woman and immediately realized that she was of some influence and power. The dress she had been wearing costed so much that the money required to buy the dress could buy enough to food to feed the poor for months. The Grand General took advantage of this and made sure he had gained her favor, as well as everyone associated with her. In Noxus, power meant everything. And whoever has more power than the one who was considered the leader of an era that was known to be the "Noxian Revolution"? Jericho Swain was the most attractive person in Noxus. He was the one true master of the Game. And he had made sure to spread out his birds throughout the ball in order to collect information.

_Lady Du Couteau to the Iron Spike Mountains? How preposterous! I hear the slopes of the Iron Spike Mountains are treacherous. Can you imagine? Fighting against the hordes and hordes of those creatures? I once ran into one of those creatures myself and my goodness… I am not very fond of that memory. So have you heard…. Oh my goodness no way! Let's dance shall we madam? …Did you hear Swain's announcement? ….Who better than the assassination squad? …..Lady Death will surely bring honor to Noxus…..That is dangerous… Lovely dress!..._ …. And the Dance continued throughout the night.

The night begun to shift from fun and exhilaration, to chill and relaxation. Jericho Swain took the high podium stage to speak to the audience. He used Beatrice, his trusty Raven, to conjure up a magic that enhanced his voice volume tenfold. The music stopped as Darius signaled the musicians.

"Dear citizens of Noxus. Tonight marks another annual celebration of our home, the grand Noxus!" The crowd cheered and roared, chanting Noxus. Swain gestured them to settle down as the crowd quickly grew quite. "As you know, the battle to determine who shall control the Ironspike Mountains is still in debate. We, Noxus, will send an initial army led by none other than Katarina Du Couteau in order to measure scout out good camping places as well as good rendezvous zones and battlefields. Katarina and her 'Imperial Shadows' are the most elite in path-planning as well as trajectory mapping. There will be not many Void Creatures until we near the date of the gathering time. And here is the real reason you are all here tonight." Jericho Swain walked up closer to the edge of the high podium. "The news I am about to reveal to you, is the set date of the Void gathering at the Ironspike mountains."

The Fourth of March, Swain announced. There was dead silence in the crowd. The day of the Grand Ball marked the thirteenth of June which meant that the said date was approximately nine months away.

"But my friends. Tonight, we celebrate the founding of Noxus. Tonight, we commemorate souls of the brave! Souls of the brave that died to defend and strengthen our home! Noxus! Chant with me, let your spirit free! Noxus! Noxus! Noxus!" Swain spoke out with passion and intensity, as his raven flew towards the ceilings and created a special lighting effects that were incredibly beautiful. Elegant and majestic, were common words to describe the sight. To this, Darius, his right hand man and the Grand Captain of the Noxian Imperial Army, shouted and chanted "Noxus!" as the crowd followed along with fury and passion.

This Annual Noxian Grand Ball would go down in history as one of the most gruesome celebration of all time.

Suddenly, the floor of the dance floor started bubbling and oozing out liquid that seemed to be blood. At first, people were intrigued and wondering what was going on as Swain looked on with concern as he indicated his troops and soldiers to take position. As the pool grew bigger, the oozing and bubbling grew stronger and more violent as a figure with an armor that had spikes protruding as shoulder guard. The figure, glowing in red, slowly emerged from the pool as he revealed his silver hair and blood-red pupils that seemed like they could pierce the soul of whoever they gazed on. It was Vladimir, the Blood Lord, fully revealing himself as his menacingly bloody colored cape moved about.

"Do pardon me for my rude entrance but I believe you did forget to extend an invitation to me, Grand General!" Vladimir jested as the crowd froze in fear at the sight of the Lord of Terror.

"Vladimir…. What is this about?"

"I am simply here, to enjoy the Grand Ball! I am still a citizen of Noxus, am I not?" said Vladimir, as he liquefied into a pool of blood and quickly solidified back to the bar area. He grabbed his favorite Pinot Noir, and sipped as if he had all the time in the world. He swigged his glass, leaning on the bar stool as he smiled at Swain.

"Enough of this!" Darius drew his mighty axe and jumped off the podium. He started charging towards Vladimir at full speed, with his axe ready to swing. Draven quickly followed suit as he screamed hysterically and spun his axes and charged towards Vladimir. Vladimir quickly liquefied once more and reappeared on the center of his original pool, but this time he was in mid-air.

"Hehe. If you can't provide me the entertainment I desire, well…. I will just have to improvise this celebration a little bit" Vladimir stated as he began rapidly glowing crimson as the pool started summoning his soldiers and minions from his underground kingdom. His soldiers started massacring everyone in sight, as countless hemomancers, Blood-Magic users, started pouring out from the massive pool of blood that covered the entire dance floor. Swain immediately joined the battle, transforming into his true battle form, the Demon Raven form, as he started draining life forces out of Vladimir's soldiers. "All soldiers! Battle stations! And everyone who cannot fight, must exit now!"

There was much panic and chaos as what seemed like infinite amounts of blood started flying everywhere. Vladimir was giggling hysterically as he suddenly burst out in mad laughter. Then he liquefied back into his liquid form and entered back to the original pool to be hidden for his Hemomancers to do damage.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Noxian forces were able to control the situation as the pool stopped summoning Hemomancers and gradually disappeared, summoning Vladimir in the center. The Grand Ball's once majestic hall was now in ruins. The remaining Hemomancers rallied up towards Vladimir in order to protect their God.

"You will die, Bloodsucker!" Darius roared, as he charged with complete malice and bloodlust. The sight of him was as if seeing a shark smelling blood in water. A swing of his axe made quick works of at least two Hemomancers, as more blood spewed everywhere. More blood made Darius even stronger. He started battling through hordes of Hemomancers as Draven soon followed behind, laughing ever so grandly, to Kill Secure any blood soldiers that Darius couldn't quite finish off.

"Vladimir, you are through!" Swain screamed in his Demon Bird form, with his voice containing very high levels of infestation. He started walking towards the remaining Hemomancer to join Darius and Draven.

Vladimir smiled cynically.

"I have one more surprise in store for you." He gestured his left hand and another pool was summoned. And a massive grey figure leaped out of it.

"No, it cannot be!" Swain screamed.

It was Sion, the Undead Juggernaut.

"IT'S TIME FOR WAR! GRAHHHHHHHHHH" Sion started charging and destroying everything and everyone in his path as he swung his mighty axe with great ferocity and unnerving agility. His magical blood shield protected him from all damage as it exploded after some duration to deal incredibly powerful damage with area of effect shockwaves. And those that were knocked up by the swing of his might axe, if they survived the fall, were completely massacred afterwards. This 8 foot Undead Juggernaut was loose and on a complete rampage.

A great battle between the former champions of the Institute of War begun. Swain could match Vladimir's life-drain with his own while Cassiopeia and Leblanc were fighting the Hemomancers. Someone had to stop Sion's destructive rampage and that someone could only be the Blood Brothers of Darius and Draven, as Sion was barely holding on against the brothers.

Darius swung his mighty axe up towards Sion's face but Sion blocked it with his metal gauntlet. He pushed aside and quickly swung his axe down at Darius, who side stepped and rolled out in order to dodge. Darius roared as he once again swung his axe, but this time spinning it so the force and the impact would be stronger. Sion slammed his axe down and the two weapons clashed creating a massive shockwave that surprised even Sion himself. Then one of Draven's axes came flying as it struck Sion in the back as it gracefully returned back to the wild Draven. Sion's expression did not change at all. Sion was brought down to his left knee but he was quick to grab Darius by his throat before Darius could finish him off. Sion quickly chokeslammed Darius and reached for his axe but another one of Draven's axes came whirling, making Sion defend himself with his gauntlet.

"GWAHH! I WILL KILL YOU!" Sion leaped towards Draven without his weapons and slammed down upon him, which Draven was barely able to dodge. Once Draven got to his feet, Sion immediately sent Draven flying with a punch and rendered him unconscious. This bought Darius enough time to hit his signature move, Noxian Guillotine, as Sion barely managed to defend against it by creating his Blood-Shield around him. Darius's axe went through the barrier and stuck in Sion's right shoulder. Sion screamed as he punched Darius aside with great might as he took out the axe stuck in his shoulder, throwing it aside, and started charging towards where Swain was.

Swain used his Nevermove binding spell to keep Vladimir confined in one place but Vladimir easily escaped the binding by liquefying into his blood form and used his blood to strike back at Swain. He slashed the ground with his finger nails and waves of red hot blood blasted out towards Swain. But Swain was smarter than to fall to an attack like that, as the Demon Bird formed a barrier around himself that protected him from Vladimir's attack. Suddenly Beatrice, Swain's raven, shot a petrifying beam at Vladimir from his back, distracting his attention away from Swain just long enough for Swain to use his Nevermove binding spell on Vladimir. Swain quickly closed distance and started draining life force out of Vladimir. Vladimir screamed in agony and barely escaped by liquefying into Sanguine Pool. But when Vladimir solidified again, Leblanc was waiting for him as the Deceiver used her ethereal chains to bind down Vladimir.

The Lord of Terror started using his Transfusion spell on everything in sight in order to heal the wounds he was suffering from the leader of the Black Rose and the Grand General of Noxus. Beatrice once again positioned itself as the raven blasted its petrifying laser beam at Vladimir. Swain turned back to his old form and cackled as he slowly walked up to the Lord of Blood. But Leblanc and Swain's joys were cut short by a violet war cry of Sion as he screamed, "WAR!", and slammed into Swain with his shoulder, gravely wounding the Master Tactician as Swain was knocked into a wall from the impact. Beatrice was quick to fly to the aids of its unconscious master before Sion would finish him off.

"Ugh, I need him still," Leblanc grumbled, as she quickly dashed to Swain using her distortion spell to move almost instantaneously.

"FOR TRUE NOXUS!" Sion was standing above Swain as he raised his gigantic axe in order to finish Swain for good. Beatrice's laser did not work, no matter how hard it puked out the magical petrifying beam. As Sion swung down at Swain, Darius appeared and blocked his attack with a swing of his own axe.

"You dare!?" Vladimir, now free of binding, was furious. With a large hiss, he summoned a great pool known as the Hemoplague that engulfed the entire Ballroom. With a large roar Vladimir used transfusion and everyone within the Hemoplague were drained. Vladimir moved so fast that he seemed as if he was teleporting around. He started slashing away at Noxian soldiers with his blood magic infused nails as he quickly made his way towards Swain, but was stopped by Cassiopeia Du Couteau as the gorgon like creature let out her petrifying gaze, turning Vladimir into stone, but not before Vladimir stabbed Cassiopeia through her torso.

"NO!" Leblanc screamed as she quickly rushed to the aids of Cassiopeia, leaving the battle with the injured half-snake.

Draven quickly took notice of Vladimir's stone form and fired his spinning axes with his all his might. The whirling dooms of death that were Draven's axes made nasty sounds as it travel towards Vladimir. "DIE!" Draven screamed as his axes his their mark and cut the Lord of Terror into pieces. Draven's axes made a return to him as Draven gloated about. But then stone pieces of Vladimir sunk into the Hemoplague and the Lord of Terror emerged behind Draven. Hands made purely of blood emerged from the pool and binded Draven down. "I am invincible" said Vladimir.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? LET ME GO!"

"Witness the depths of despair."

Vladimir then pressurized Hemoplague's magical powers into Draven's head, as it started glowing crimson more brightly by the second.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! STOP! STOP!"

Darius froze as he watched with terror at the sight of his brother's head getting blown to pieces. Draven was no more as his headless body was dragged into the Hemoplague.

"YOU ****!" Darius screamed as he charged at Vladimir with pure rage. He leaped and swung his axe down at Vladimir with his signature move, Noxian Guillotine, but Sion was quick to follow and block the attack for Vladimir.

"Maybe some other time, hehe" Vladimir's eyes glowed red and the Hemoplague pool disappeared, dragging Sion and Vladimir along with it.

Darius now just stood there, completely stupefied as he was powerless to do anything. Swain managed to get back up to his feet but was having difficulties breathing. Cassiopeia had been heavily injured and was receiving medical attention as her lover LeBlanc looked on with worries. Many Noxians lay dead as Swain glimpsed around at the tragedy that had befallen the Grand Ball. He called onto his right-hand, Darius, to help him to medical attention.

As Swain looked around at the carnage wrought by Vladimir and his underlings, he realized that the apocalyptic event brought down by the Void Invasion had given birth to many new destructive forces, including those of Vladimir. For the first time in a long time Swain realized that Noxus was vulnerable not because of outside forces, but because of forces from inside Noxus.

Swain started cackling at the irony of it all; he had spent so much energy and time building and strategizing around defending Noxus against outside invasion that he was not able to foresee corruption within his own nation. For the first time in his life, Swain was five steps behind and Noxus had been taken a great impact.


	4. Jester's Playground

Oooh hoo ohoo hoo ho oohhoho! This is a nice celebration! May I provide some much needed…laughter? Hoo hahaha!

"Woah woah! Who are you, clown!?" _a person asked the clown who fashioned half-black and half-white hair that pointed up on both sides like horns. He had appeared out of nowhere with a poof of smoke. _

How about some magic tricks? Hmmm? Come on! I am sure I could bring some more entertainment into this….celebration of yours! HOO HOOO HOO.

_He leaned onto the person with a grin so wide it could rip his face right in half._

"I don't know who you are, but you are intruding in our celebration and unless you have business with us, I suggest you leave or you will die a slow death." _another person threatened the clown, as he help up his gun._

My apologies! I meant no offense. But I am sure you would want to sit for this next trick because for the next trick, I am sure to make one of you….. disappear! oioh hAhahahah!

_A room full of people from an extremist group known as the Leaguers watched in awe and curiosity in a midst of their celebration of sacking a village. The mad clown had appeared out of nowhere, instantly multiplying into three different clowns, and each wearing different set of clothing._

Ladies and Gentlemen of the evening! My name is Shaco!

"And my name is Shaco too!"

"Me as well!" Oh shut it!

_The people of the Leaguers started to realize who Shaco really was, a former champion of the, now gone, Institute of Justice. The lieutenants ordered their soldiers to attack and take down the Demon Jester and his clones but to no avail. As Shaco wiped blood of the soldiers off his blade, he spoke:_

I have the floor now Oh hooo hooh hoho hooo!

_While laughing Shaco threw a poisoned shiv at a man, slicing his face slightly._

Oops! I missed! HAHAHAHAhAAHA!

_He laughed on, as the man screamed in agony and terror as the poison from the shiv slowly and painfully spread across his face._

"HELP! HELP! Ghack," _the man started foaming at his mouth, but not before his head started bloating up. POP! The headless body of the man lie on the floor._

Oooh hooo hoo! Now for my next trick, anyone who tries to leave will follow suit of your dearest comrade!

_Shaco snapped his fingers and two more Shaco clones appeared _

Oh! And I do have a lovely surprise for you waiting outside. I have managed to kill every one of your little guards! Isn't that wonderful!? Haha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

_The crowd started murmuring and panicking._

**QUIET! ANY PERSON TO MAKE A SOUND WILL DIE.**

_Shaco's menacing statement silenced the crowd._

Oh….mind me, that was awfully rude of me wasn't it HAHAHAHAHA!

_Shaco pranced around on the podium like a madman. He pranced and danced and wobbled around, and suddenly came to an abrupt stop. The menacing chill in the air made skins crawl and spines freeze._

Why do you look at me with such serious expressions on your faces?

"Why!? Why are you doing this!?"

"Please let us live!"

"You have no reason to do such things!"

Oh but the anarchy! That's the true beauty of it all, isn't it? Hoo hoo hoo! Come on men of "true law!" Hoo HAHAHAHAHAHA! I just love some words that flow out of people nowadays wouldn't you say?

_Shaco vanished with red smokes and reappeared next to one of the members, instantly slitting the man's throat with his dagger. Then he proceeded onto beheading the man._

You know, they say the moment before somebody dies he reveals his true colors and you sir, are full of gushing RED! HAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!

_ Poof. He disappeared with the man's head and appeared next to one of the group's lieutenants. _

"Please… please let me live… I-I-I'll do anything I swear please mister Shaco Sir" _said the lieutenant with Shaco's blade against his throat. _

Hmmmmm Mister Shaco. I like the sound of that. For tonight, you will all call me Mister Shaco! Oooh hoo hoho hoo! Don't you like the sound of that!? Mister…. What is your name?

"M-m-my name?"

That is correct chap. Come on! Tell me your name!

"M-my name is Y-Yumo."

Yumo? Hmmm okay then Yumo. Do you have a family Yumo? Depending on your answer, I may let you live. Point them to me! Oh and no lies! Ooh hahahAhA! Oh and do you like my new hairdo? I colored one side white and the other black, because they are my new favorite colors you know? Oohh ohoh HAHAHAHA!

"Y-yes sir…you look great with that hair. I have a son and a wife, right over there…Please let us live please sir!"

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

_Shaco approached the man's face very slowly, with a grin that grew ever wider._

Why don't you go ahead and take the stage, and recite to your fellow members of your propaganda slogan one more time….And I may let you all live after all!

"O-o-okay s-s-sir," _with his pants dripping, Yumo approached the stage. _"F-fellow members of the L-leaguers. W-we are of the Fish order. W-We are to bring true order to Valoran f-f-for it is fo-foretold in o-our sacred book. W-w-we shall protect one another a-an-and value the ord-order more than our individual l-lives… It i-i-is our duty and right to pillage, rape, murder and kill everyone who do not follow our true o-o-o-order f-for t-they are not of the t-true re-re-religi-"

Oh enough of your mumbling.

_Shaco snapped his fingers and his clones laughed menacingly as they attacked Yumo's family members and started tearing away at their flesh and eating them alive with their bare hands. They screamed long, agonizing and painful screams before all fell to silence. _

"NO NO NO! BUT YOU SAID-"

Oops. **I lied. Hoo HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!**

_Shaco's grabbed the extremist lieutenant by the throat and laughed madly. As Yumo cowered in fear, Shaco bit his nose-tip and chomped it off. He screamed as blood from his nosed started spewing onto Shaco's face. Shaco gave a sinister smile._

HAHAHAHAHAHA! You, who hide behind his family, are going to die a slow and painful death. Wouldn't you agree ladies and gentlemen? Oh why do I try with you, you are a dead crowd.

_Shaco drew his blades and sliced Yumo's arms off in two swift motions. Yumo screamed, now missing his nose-tip and his arms. _

Ooh hooo hoo hoo hAHAHAHA! Now, for the main event of this evening I have prepared this unicycle for you! _Shaco snapped a finger and one of his clones brought a unicycle up to the stage. _

Now then darling, put this man on the unicycle! Now then Yumo… if you can manage to bike over there without falling, I will let you live after all but know this.. If you choose to live, I will kill everyone else in this celebration.

_Hearing this, the crying armless man started wobbling on the unicycle towards the spot Shaco had pointed to for a last chance to live without a moment's hesitation, as the crowd started panicking and shouting out profanities out of sheer terror._

Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk. Look at him folks. Your Lieutenant, ladies and gentlemen!

_There was panic in the crowd as the majority of them started screaming in fear and cried for their lives. Some of them tried to make it to the only exit guarded by 3 other Shaco clones. None of them made it out alive, as the rest of the Leaguers fell back in line. _

_ Once Yumo finally reached the spot, he turned and asked Shaco: _"Puh-puhrease lut me leev" _he murmured with blood running down from his missing nose tip. _

Oh I did forget to tell you about the grand finale didn't I? **NO.**

_Shaco's Jack in the Box popped out from near Yumo, making him fall off the unicycle. It started laughing and shooting out needles at Yumo's legs as he screamed for mercy as the crowd watched in horror._

It looks like all of you made sounds didn't you? And what did I say earlier about what I am going to do to people who make sounds? Raise your hands! No one!? How disappointing.

_Shaco curled up into a ball and had a breakdown of cries and screams. His clones raised their hands._

"Ooh Ooh me! Me! Pick me!"

"No you doofus! Pick me! I know the answer"

"Please you simpletons I am the clown with the brains. Me me!"

"Ooh! Ooh! You said any person to make a sound will die!"

"YOU WEREN'T PICKED ON TO ANSWER!" _said one of Shaco's clones as the real Shaco disappeared with a poof. He reappeared next to Yumo, who was still alive with what looked like thousand needles poking out of his legs. Shaco held up Yumo's face very close as he gave the most bone-chilling smile. As Yumo looked on in sheer terror with bloodshot eyes, Shaco spoke with a very deep, distorted voice. _

**I am a man of my word. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!**


	5. Jester's Playground pt2

Demacia, a majestic city of golden dreams, with its recently appointed King, Jarvan the Fourth, had never been more unified in spirit. Circumstances that led to such unified spirit, mainly due to an ongoing war against the creatures of the Void all over Valoran, could all be traced back to the death of Jarvan the Third.

Within months of being seated on the throne, Jarvan the Fourth had managed to gather many champions scattered throughout Valoran in order to bolster up Demacia's military might against an impending war. Demacia, a kingdom that stood for justice and might, was on its high alert with the news of Void gathering nine months from this day, and because of what had transpired in Noxus.

He had called his trusted council to a meeting, only moments before giving a big speech to citizens of Demacia. Five out of Seven of his most trusted advisors and generals sat around a round table in the middle of the Throne room.

"My friends," Jarvan started.

"Your majesty," Poppy the Grand general of Demacia, answered.

"Your majesty," Shyvana, the half dragon, followed.

"Present, your majesty," said Lux the first advisor, as well as the Grand Magi of Demacia, answered.

"I am here," Quinn the spymaster, along with her trusted bird Valor, answered slouching back on her chair.

"….." Sona strung a chord, indicating she was ready for the meeting to commence.

Jarvan brought out his files collected by his agents of the upcoming war against the Void and their current trajectories, as well as major events happening around the world.

"Where is Xin Zhao?" he asked.

"…My lord he is still in exile. He still thinks it was his fault your father was killed," Quinn answered with grief on her face.

"Well… We shall have to worry about that later. We are nine months away from this upcoming war at the Ironspike Mountains and the world is going to hell," Jarvan stated, as he held his forehead. He continued. "Here are the issues we will discuss for this meeting: Vladimir decided to attack Noxus for an unknown reason, Shaco is killing whoever and wherever he feels like, Zaun is in a cold war against Piltover, and the Civil War in Freljord seems to see no end. This is the time to unite, not fight amongst ourselves."

Lux stood up, as she brought out her own documents.

"Agreed. My fellow councilmen, it is time for Demacia to take action," she handed out one document to each of the generals. She continued "currently there are five of us and each of this document will detail out your next missions."

After a thorough look at her documents, Quinn was the first to answer.

"So you need me to hunt down Shaco? Oh boy, Valor this is going to be hard," said Quinn, as Valor squawked back at her.

"Be careful Quinn, and he seems to appear wherever there is chaos. Try to hunt down the extremist group the Leaguers. Their platoons seem to be the recent targets of the Demon Jester," Jarvan cautioned.

Poppy scratched her head in confusion.

"Wait my document lists out that I am to lead an invasion force into Freljord? I thought we were vying for unity!" Poppy asked.

"Their Civil War has been going on for too long and too many innocents are dying. You are to unite the three warring tribes or help Ashe and Tryndamere, those of Avarosans, win the war so our two kingdoms may negotiate and join forces against the Void" Lux answered. "Trust us… this was a difficult decision to make."

Poppy grunted but accepted what she had to do.

Sona smiled and nodded at her document, indicating she was confident with the task she was assigned; she was to travel to Piltover and Zaun and hold concerts in order to calm and appease the minds of both Piltoverean and Zaunite officials. Jarvan had realized that the quickest end to a war was through love and Sona's music could touch the hearts of even the most corrupt.

Finally, Shyvana and Lux were to travel to the Ironspike Mountains in order to study the terrain, and make trajectory paths in order to prepare for the upcoming invasion of the Void.

"So why Ironspike Mountains? There are so many other mountains of better value and they choose to occupy the Ironspike Mountains?" Shyvana questioned.

"It's most likely there is something in those mountains that they want," Poppy answered, as she collected her documents

Lux smiled.

"Your senses are as keen as ever," Lux formed a ball of light in her hand that projected into a hologram screen "based on multiple magical readings, my team and I believe that there is something in those mountains that will end up bolstering their military strength. I have a couple of speculations but the only valid main reason for the Void to go after the Ironspike Mountains would be to strengthen their creatures. As you can see from this hologram, the mountains' regions are full of magical activities but we just can't pinpoint the source. And this is the main reason Shyvana and I are going to the Ironspike Mountains. We have to find the source of this thing that the Void is after"

Jarvan stood up and the rest of the council followed suit.

"My friends. Let us announce this news to Demacia," said Jarvan as he held out his fist "let us say the Demacian vow."

Everyone held out one of their fists.

"Creatures of the night, beware for we charge with our kingdom's might. Although many trials may await us and many villains may crawl, Demacia will stand proud and justice shall be served for all."

All six of them recited Demacia's vow, as King Jarvan the Fourth adjourned the meeting.

In the streets of Demacia, Twisted Fate was roaming about with Garen, hooded up and well-hidden. They were on their way to a parade that was happening outside the King's Castle.

"Heh heh," Twisted Fate chuckled as he looked at Garen "ironic, is a word that comes to mind when I look at you. And butter my biscuits, your beard makes you look like a completely different person I don't think you'll be needing a hood at all."

Garen frowned as he grunted.

"Shut your trap Tobias," Garen responded, pulling his hood down a little more to cover his face.

"What _did_ happen to you after you were released from Noxian prison?" Twisted Fate asked "I know you were released around six months ago. And yet here you are, not with the Demacian forces, but as an outcast."

Garen did not answer, as he started to walk faster.

"Heh heh easy there partner," Twisted Fate swiftly cut across Garen's path and stopped him "if I am to start trusting you as one of my subordinates, I need to know what kind of a situation you are dealing with here. Wouldn't you say?"

Garen let out a sigh, as he moved Twisted Fate gently out of his path.

"…I killed the king." Garen started walking again.

Twisted Fate was speechless for a second but let out a smile as he said, "heh heh. Off to a good start."

The two arrived in front of the King's castle, where the parade was almost coming to an end. Garen looked on at the festivities with a still, but sorrowful, expression. Twisted Fate creeped up to his side.

"Hey there partner," said Tobias with a grin

Garen pinched his nose bridge in annoyance.

"What do you want again?"

"Look up over there. It's your sister" Twisted Fate pointed at Lux who was enjoying the views of the parade from the castle's main balcony.

Garen gasped, for he had not seen the sight of his beautiful sister for many months. He murmured Lux, but he quickly fell silent and turned his gaze back to the parade, which was wrapping up its final act with many prancing clowns, wearing white smiling masks on their faces while juggling their daggers.

"…You really are a sad mud pie," said Tobias as he chuckled quietly, glimpsing over the clowns with an uneasy feeling. The rest of the parade, along with the prancing clowns, entered through the back of the castle as the citizens at the outer courtyard started gathering up into a crowd.

Soon trumpets started blowing into a song that let the Demacian Grand Orchestra take over, as King Jarvan the Fourth and his advisor, Lux, came out on the main balcony with a couple of guards from Dauntless Vanguard around them.

"Hear ye, hear ye!" one of the guards shouted "show respect! Show love! For one and only, King of Demacia, his majesty, Jarvan the Fourth, the Exemplar of Demacia!"

As the guard finished his sentence, Galio, a titanic stone gargoyle flew in and sat upon the roof of the balcony and spread its wings. Even Lux was surprised at the grand entrance.

"Well, your majesty, you certainly know how to make an entrance!" Lux cheered.

"Was it a nice touch? Hahahaha" Jarvan laughed, as he looked at the citizens of his kingdom.

"Long live the king! Long live the king! Long live the king!" The crowd chanted.

As Jarvan gestured his hands, the crowd quieted down as Lux conjured up a ball of light that broadcasted Jarvan's address to the rest of Demacia through magical hologram crystals for those who could not make it to the event.

"Fellow citizens of Demacia! Today marks a beginning of a new dawn. We can no longer sit idly by as Valoran tears itself apart in the face of an impending apocalypse. Approximately nine months from now, the creatures of the Void will gather at the Ironspike Mountains. There is something within the mountains these creatures want that they will use to try… TRY to destroy us, while the rest of the Valoran wars amongst themselves. It is Demacia's duty as the most just kingdom in Valoran to be fully active in the affairs of our brothers and sisters as well as finding out what these creatures want." Jarvan stated. "We will stop this threat but we cannot do this alone. We want your help! We want each and every one of you to spread this message and spread awareness for a stronger, more unified Demacia against the face of Apocalypse! Creatures of the night, beware for we charge with our kingdom's might. Although many trials may await us and many villains may crawl, Demacia will stand proud and justice shall be served for all!"

The crowd cheered wildly. Garen teared up.

"My king…sister… How I wish to serve with you once more," Garen quietly thought to himself, as Twisted Fate approached him with an uneasy look on his face.

"Garen… do you feel… trembles?"

Garen looked at Twisted Fate with a confused expression because he not feel the ground trembling whatsoever. But Twisted Fate's magical energies were a lot more developed than those of Garen, as he used and wielded magic itself to combat and travel, while Garen only trained his body to adept to his innate magic to bolster up his physical attributes.

"What…what's going on?"

"Garen we need to move away from the courtyard, right now,"

Twisted Fate abruptly started moving through the crowd in order to leave the area as Garen quickly followed suit. But a man of Garen's stature would not go unnoticed moving through the crowd, and Lux quickly caught a glimpse of the two from the balcony. She shouted to them.

"Hey! You two, stop right there!"

Hearing his sister's voice, Garen's felt his stomach drop. Twisted Fate quickly turned around, gestured Garen to keep on running, and yelled to Lux

"EVACUATE THE AREA RIGHT NOW! RIGHT F***ING NOW!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, as he kept on moving away from the crowd.

"Wait, Tobias?" Lux recognized Twisted Fate

And without a moment to spare, the middle of the courtyard started glowing purple and the trembles that Twisted Fate were talking about could be felt by everyone. The citizens started panicking as Jarvan and Lux looked on. But suddenly from the skies, 4 missiles struck the balcony that Jarvan and Lux were standing on, resulting in a huge explosion as Garen screamed "NO!" He started running back towards the castle through a crowd full of people in complete panic. But then…

GOONG! With a deafening sound, an explosion erupted from the ground, killing many citizens on the spot and knocking everyone off their feet, including Garen and Twisted Fate. Then a sinister shriek was heard as a gigantic purple creature popped out from the tunnel created by the explosion. The bulky creature had no eyes and was on all four legs, and it cut off Garen as it let out the loudest shriek he had ever heard in his life. The creature was Rek'Sai, one of the generals of the Void army, as well as a former champion of the Institute of Justice. Following after Rek'Sai, an army of Void creatures started crawling out. They were all grey, bulky, naked, and had glowing purple eyes. They all stood over 7 feet tall and were attacking everything on sight, as Rek'Sai turned her gaze to Garen and growled.

Garen got up from the ground, as he gazed at the monstrous creature of the Void. He drew his Greatsword to cut three of the Void creatures that jumped at him in halves. He gritted his teeth as he gripped his sword tight with both of his hands.

"FOWL CREATURE! FOR DEMACIA!" Garen charged at Rek'Sai, in order to protect the ones he loved most.


End file.
